Leftwing, Christian and proud of it

I enjoyed the article by Oliver James (Family under the microscope: Can faith save people from a life of alcoholism or depression?, Family, 31 March) but why did he assume that Guardian readers would be "a largely agnostic or atheist bunch"? Is there evidence that people of "leftwing" persuasion are less likely to be religious or that religious people are less likely to be leftwing? I think not. My wife and I are active Christians and have read the Guardian for more years than we care to remember. Most of our Christian friends are, like ourselves, politically left of centre, as we might expect among people who are followers of Jesus Christ. Many of them also read this paper. Please do not so glibly discount us.John BryantProfessor emeritus, University of Exeter

• In assuming that Guardian readers are "a largely agnostic or atheist bunch", Oliver James is guilty of sloppy thinking. He also risks alienating readers like myself who are, in fact, believers and feel at home with the Guardian (and I know many such people). One could, without being sloppy, assume Guardian readers are largely a left-of-centre bunch. It might surprise him to learn that if the British electorate were to vote for leftwing parties in the same proportion as do Catholic voters, there would never be a rightwing government at Westminster. He also seems to think secularism is incompatible with religious belief, whereas it should suffice to look at France and Italy, to name but two countries, to see that it is perfectly possible to believe both in God and in secularism.Janet PittLuxembourg